Does size matter? We’re talking wine bottle sizes, of course, and yes – we think it does. Bigger is better — not just because you can serve more people (and the fact that the more colossal the bottle, the more impressive), but because wine ages differently in larger formats. More substantial quantities of wine age slower, making them last longer than your standard bottle.

Wine generally comes in a standard 750-milliliter quantity, but producers have numerous bottle sizes at their disposal. Here are just some of the larger bottle sizes you may encounter, their names, and how many standard wine bottles they hold:

1.5 L – Magnum: equal to two standard-sized bottles.

3 L – Double Magnum: equal to two Magnum bottles. If the bottle is Burgundy-shaped it is referred to as a ‘Jeroboam.’

4.5 L – Jeroboam: equivalent to 6 standard sized bottles. While it may seem confusing, since it holds the same name as a Burgundy-shaped Double Magnum, the Burgundy-shaped 4.5 L is referred to Rehoboam, proving the importance of knowing the bottle shapes discussed above.

Fun Fact: Beringer created the massive 130 liter Maximus bottle for their 2001 Private Reserve Cab. The bottle sold at a charity auction for over $3.2 million. Imagine the hangover!

You might be wondering why these bottles are named the way they are. The names are actually biblical references, many of them ancient kings of Israel. Maybe these bottles are named as such because they are of biblical proportions! Strangely, there seems to be little consensus regarding why these bottle names were chosen or who even decided on them. Either way, most of these are hard to come by, so if you see a bottle beyond a double magnum, we suggest snagging it and calling a bunch of friends!

Some magnum and double magnum bottles make appearances on our online wine store from time to time, so keep checking the site to try to get your hands on one (or three)!